Wet/Dry info?

[djlancer88]

Well iv made a couple of wet/drys in my day, im currently running a DIY 20 gallon W/D on my 90. Iv heard the BB that grows in wet/dry's is different then the canister/HOB's (submerged) kind of filters, whats the difference?. Im just curious on what makes them so much better? the facts about em. Pros/Cons.

How long does a usual wet/dry take to cycle? same as submerged media filters?

Can you use submerged media to help jumpstart a cycle on a W/D

 

[FSM]

it supports more bacteria because there is more oxygen.

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

it supports more bacteria because there is more oxygen.

yup...its about that simple. Trickling water is ideal for the bacteria and a wet/dry maximizes surface area and oxygen exposure which is why they work so well.

Bio wheels use the same principal but to me seem like more of a novelty as they are way over priced and seem to do more music making (squeaking) than filtering.

 

[FSM]

Why do you say biowheels are overpriced? An emperor 400 is cheaper than an AC70, and does 100 GPH more.

 

[djlancer88]

lol i know the obvious!!! haha. i was asking for more of a scientific answer, more in depth. sorry guys but thanks for the input

 

[benito1188]

wait, so you guys are saying that, if you have a wet/dry filter system. theres really no need for any expensive canister ones???

and may i add, though im not sure, some people still add more "filtration" like adding a aquaclear or penguin(mec/bio filter), etc. to their tanks even though there is already a EXPENSIVE (ehiem, fluval, etc) existing filter going on..(do you get what im saying???)

SO, getting/building a wet/dry filter does all the work for you? just one filtration system?? no more multiples?? can someone enlighten me? thanks

cheers

 

[benito1188]

oh, and would you still do water changes??

 

[gonnelro]

Yes, of course you still need to do water changes, no matter what. Your filter does nothing for the build up of nitrates. The best-kept aquariams still need water changes, barring a nitrate removing system and a ton of live plants. I like wet/dry just because ir provides the most surface area and oxygen for BB to grow - means best bio-filtration. It all depends on the filter though - mechanical all depends on what you put in there, and bio all depends on how much media you have, both depend on the flow-rate as well, and chemical filtration is the same for all different types of filters, if you chose to use chemical filtration. But wet/dry are the best for the simple reasons stated above, no greater scientific reason (BB needs oxygen, get more in wet/dry, plus tons of surface area available to house BB).

 

[benito1188]

are there diffrent sizes for those filters(wet/dry)? cause most ive seen are pretty big, some even have plants in it(is this even the filter that wer talking about?) big enough to be another furniture(you know what i mean?)

 

[ar0wan]

It is my experience that W/D filters cycle a little faster than canisters, again do to the abundance of o2 alloted the bacteria. I prefer them personally do to the ease of maintenance. A supplemental canister will help you remove the larger DOC but it is not required for one major reason: You are essencially creating a very aggressive nitrate maker, and water changes are probably MORE critical. You can forget about nitrite and ammonia levels as long as you don't alter bio-load to fast or disrupt the colony with chemical treatments or a massive WC (greater than 50% or so IMO).

A sump at about 30% volume of your display tank is appropriate.